August 20, 2021 E-Letter

Approximately one-third of the New Testament is written against error, either to warn believers about false teachers, or to answer their false doctrines.  And, all but one book of the New Testament contains some warning or admonition against heresy. The reason is simple: it really does matter what a person believes.

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We are posting a number of e-letters Make Sure Ministries has received from David Henke, founder of Watchman Fellowship, Inc., an apologetics ministry, on a variety of subjects. They will post on Tuesdays into the foreseeable future. As always, we appreciate your comments. Please consider clicking on the link following this blog to learn more about Watchman Fellowship and what they have to offer. E-letters have been slightly edited for clarity.

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Two of the warnings given are found in Matthew 7:15 and again in 2 Corinthians 11:4 where the Holy Spirit tells us there will be those who will claim to be true prophets of God with a message from Him when in truth they are teaching “another Jesus,” “another spirit,” and “another gospel.”

In numerous places throughout the Bible we are told how to test those who claim to speak for God. (Matthew 24:23-26; 1 John 4:1; Jude 3). We must not blindly accept everything, even if it sounds so logical.

What follows is the first of four reasons why the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, or, Jehovah’s Witnesses, as they are known, should be tried by the Biblical tests of truth. The results of this test will demonstrate why it would be unwise to become a Jehovah’s Witness.

A Falsified Bible

The New World Translation is a mistranslation of the Scriptures. It has been changed in key places to promote the doctrines of the Watchtower Society. Revelation 22:18-19 condemns such adding to, or, taking away from what God has said to us.

The following are some examples of tampering:

At Matthew 25:46 the words “cutting off” are substituted for “punishment” in order to support their doctrine of annihilation.

In John 1:1 they call Jesus “a god.” There is neither grammatical nor contextual support for such a rendering. To the contrary John 1:3 says Jesus created EVERYTHING.

Colossians 1:16-17, and 20, have the word “other” inserted five times to make the text say Jesus is one of the things created rather than being the Creator of “all things.” [They used to have “other” in parentheses, but in their most recent 2013 revision they have removed the parentheses, as they have in the following example.]

At Philippians 2:9 they also have the word “other” added to the text. Without it Jesus has the name above every name.

Greek and Hebrew scholars have been very outspoken about the New World Translation:

• Dr. Bruce Metzger of Princeton called it “a frightful mistranslation.”

• Dr. Julius Mantey, co-author of A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament, said it was “a shocking mistranslation.”

• Dr. William Barclay of the University of Glasgow said, “The deliberate distortion of truth by this sect is seen in their New Testament translations… It is abundantly clear that a sect which can translate the New Testament like that is intellectually dishonest.”

• Dr. Eugene A. Nida, head of the Translation Department of the American Bible Society said, “… the New World Translation was apparently done by persons who did not take seriously the syntax of the Greek.”

Next week I will demonstrate the second reason why the Watchtower is a false teacher, their False Doctrines.

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